Blood pressure
Blood pressure is the force with which blood pushes against the walls of the blood vessels. Below 120/80 is optimal; from 140/90 it counts as high blood pressure, which often causes no symptoms for a long time.
Ausführlich erklärt
Blood pressure describes the force with which your blood pushes against the walls of your arteries. The upper (systolic) value is produced when the heart pumps, the lower (diastolic) value when it relaxes between two beats. It is measured in millimetres of mercury, or mmHg for short.
Values below 120/80 mmHg are considered optimal, up to 129/84 normal and up to 139/89 high-normal. From 140/90 mmHg, measured several times on different days at the doctor's, European guidelines speak of high blood pressure (hypertension); for home measurements, an average of 135/85 or above already counts as too high, because readings tend to be lower in familiar surroundings. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany's public health agency, almost one in three adults in Germany has high blood pressure – and about one in five of those affected doesn't know it, because high pressure causes no symptoms for years. Yet it quietly damages the heart, brain, kidneys and eyes.
Weight and blood pressure are closely linked: for every kilogram lost, the upper value drops by about 1 mmHg on average – with 10 kg, that's around 10 mmHg, roughly as much as a medication. Regular aerobic exercise lowers raised blood pressure by a further 5 to 8 mmHg or so. And then there's salt: the WHO recommends a maximum of 5 grams a day, the German Nutrition Society (DGE) up to 6 grams – most people in Germany eat considerably more, mainly from bread, cold meats, cheese and ready meals.
Measuring correctly is easy: sit quietly for five minutes, arm at heart level, no talking, measure twice one to two minutes apart and write down both values. Coffee, cigarettes and exercise in the preceding half hour distort the result. A single high reading at the doctor's (the “white coat effect”) isn't a diagnosis.
Children and teenagers also have their blood pressure checked by a doctor, at the latest at the J1 (Germany's routine health check for young adolescents) – where separate tables based on age, sex and height apply, not the adult values. Overweight is now the most important risk factor for raised blood pressure in teenagers; exercise and less salt help here just as they do in adults.